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MARIA FRIEDMAN BY EXTRA SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
 Winner of the 1995 Olivier Award for 'Best Entertainment, Maria Friedman returned to the West End to present an exciting and unforgettable blend of music and entertainment. All arrangemnts and new lyrics where specially commissioned for Maria Friedman by extra special arrangement.
Whitehall Theatre, London
Previewed 11 May 1995
Opened 16 May 1995
Closed 25 June 1995
This production was adapted from Maria's Maria Friedman by Special Arrangement which had been staged at the Donmar Warehouse in 1994/95.
Musicians
| Michael Haslam | Musical Director/ Keyboards/ Accordian |
| Jason Carr | Piano/ Accordian/ Keyboards |
| David Roach | Oboe/ Clarinet/ Saxophone |
| Andy Findon | Flute/ Clarinet/ Saxophone |
| Christopher Tombling | Violin |
| Philip D'Arcy | Viola |
| Dougie Cummings | Cello |
| Alec Dankworth | Double Bass/ Bass Guitar |
| Missak Takoushian | Electric and Acoustic Guitar |
| Noel Langley | Trumpet/ Flugal |
| Chris Wells | Drums/ Percussion |
| Paul Bateman | Piano |
Production Team
| Director | Jeremy Sams |
| Designer | Andy Walmsley |
| Lighting | Jonathan Richardson |
| Sound | John A Leonard |
| Musical Coordinator | Susie Gosling |
| Costumes | Emporio Armani
Donna Karen
Hannah Baldwin |
Songs
| Everybody Says Don't |
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by Jason Carr |
| The Man With a Child in His Eyes |
Music and lyrics by Kate Bush
Arranged by Caroline Humphris |
| Le Trombone |
Music by Michel Legrand, English lyrics by Jason Carr
Arranged by Jason Carr |
| If You Go Away |
Music by Jacques Brel, English lyrics by Rod McKuen
Arranged by Jeremy Sams |
| Our Love Is Here To Stay |
Music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Arranged by Alexander Levine |
| The Golden Days |
Music Leo Feree, English lyrics by Jeremy Sams
Arranged by Daryl Runswick |
| A Nursery Rhyme |
Anonymous
Arranged by John Owen Edwards |
| Taking a Chance on Love |
Music Vernon Duke, lyrics by John Latsuche and Ted Fetter
Arranged by Neil McArthur |
| Paris in the Rain |
Music Cora Vaucaire, English lyrics by Jeremy Sams
Arranged by Jeremy Sams |
| What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life |
Music by Michel Legrand, lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Arranged by Stephen Jackson |
| I Happen to Like New York |
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Arranged by Jason Carr |
| I N T E R V A L |
| The Blue Danube |
Music by Johann Strass II
Arranged by Michael Gibson |
| Another Hundred People |
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by Martin Koch |
| Guess Who I Saw Today |
Music and lyrics by Murray Grand and Elisse Boyd
Arranged by Missak Takoushian |
| In the Sky |
Songs from the Vilna Ghetto
Translations from the Yiddish by Jeremy Sams
Arranged by Michael Haslam |
| Springtime |
Songs from the Vilna Ghetto
Translations from the Yiddish by Jeremy Sams
Arranged by Jeremy Sams |
| You Still Belong to Me |
Music Michel Legrand, English lyrics by Jeremy Sams
Arranged by Jeremy Sams |
| The Man That Got Away |
Music by Harold Arlen, lyric by Ira Gershwin
Arranged by Jason Carr |
| If |
Music and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Arranged by John Owen Edwards |
| Finishing the Hat |
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by Michael Starobin |
| Here, There and Everywhere |
Music and lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Arranged by Jeremy Sams |
| I'm Gorgeous |
Music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick
Arranged by Martin Koch |
| Now and Then |
Music by Michel Legrand, English lyrics by Jeremy Sams
Arranged by Jeremy Sams |
| Play the Song Again |
Music by Jacques Brel, English lyrics by Richard Stilgoe
Arranged by Jason Carr |
| With the possible inclusion of any of the following: |
| Losing my Mind |
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by Caroline Humphris |
| The Best Things In Life Are Free |
Music and lyrics by De Sylva, Brown and Henderson
Arranged by Wally Harper |
| Broadway Baby |
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by John Owen Edwards |
| My Romance |
Music by Richard Rodgers, lyric by and Lorenz Hart
Arranged by William Loveday |
| Oh Stewart! |
Music and lyrics by Alan Chapman
Arranged by Michael Haslam |
| Our Time |
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by Michael Haslam |
| Something's Coming |
Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by Jason Carr |
| Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word |
Music and lyrics by Elton John and Barnie Taupin
Arranged by Jeremy Sams |
| What More Do I Need |
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Arranged by Martin Koch |
| My Ship |
Music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Arranged by Michael Reed |
| Little Girl Blue |
Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Arranged by Neil McArthur |
| Programme subject to change. The above credits are taken from the May 1995 programme. |
Notes
In an unusual move, this production had Sunday matinee performances (at 4.00pm) instead of Monday evening performances.
Quotes From The Press
Without doubt Miss Friedman is the very best thing in town... even if you have to rob the children's piggy bank or sweep the aisles afterwards, somehow afford a seat for this award-winning one (unique) woman show..." Jack Tinker, The Daily Mail (17 May 1995) read more
She's sassier than Streisand, and has the stop-the-show power of Garland and Minnelli... Maria Friedman is the best thing to have happened to British musical theatre is since heaven knows when..." >Bill Hagerty, Today (17 May 1995) read more
"...Sadly Ms Friedman has not upped her game for the bigger fixture... Despite the disappointments this is still platinum-edged cabaret entertainment, strangely rare in this country..." Antony Thoncroft, The Financial Times (18 May 1995) read more
"...Not an evening of showbiz pizzazz, but a morsel for connoisseurs with a taste for poetry and song." Patrick O'Connor, The Daily Telegraph (18 May 1995) read more
"...Friedman is a promising actress who, in this evening, is at her most impressive when she has a rounded character to explore; as a singer she has some way to go before she can begin to live up to the comparisons with Liza Minnelli and Bette Midler..." Clive Davis, The Times (18 May 1995) read more
"...A beautifully arranged and performed evening." Louise Doughty, The Mail on Sunday (21 May 1995) read more
The good news about Maria Friedman's one-woman show at the Whitehall Theatre is that it is extremely enjoyable. The bad news - well, there really isn't any, just the occasional quibble or reservation. It's a fair guess that as a singer Miss Friedman is still developing, that the best of her work is yet to come. But she is already an indubitable star..." John Gross, The Sunday Telegraph (21 May 1995) read more
"...[Maria Friedman's] gauchely presented showcase By Extra Special Arrangement reveals a promising talent which is over-exposed in the glare of a West End theatre..." Clive Hirschhorn, The Sunday Express (21 May 1995) read more
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